Rick Sund Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Mayo, Joe Johnson, Hawks

May 16th, 2012 at 11:03pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are some of tonight's miscellaneous links:

Lang Greene of HoopsWorld had his weekly chat with fans tonight. Among the significant things I took from his exchange: O.J. Mayo will most likely leave Memphis since the Grizzlies do not want to exceed the luxury tax and that Joe Johnson won't likely be dealt anytime soon.
Greene also took a look at what to expect from the Hawks this offseason. Aside from being committed to $61 MM in salaries with six roster spots to fill, the team could have some decisions to face with management and coaching as well. We reported earlier this week that current general manager Rick Sund has drawn interest from the Trail Blazers, and Greene thinks that his departure could also mean an end to Larry Drew's tenure with the team.
Kevin Sherrington of SportsDay DFW answered some questions from fans today, including an explanation of why he'd choose Rick Carlisle over Phil Jackson.
This Reuters article (via Simon Evans) examines Miami's struggles as a result of Chris Bosh's absence. The Heat players outside of Lebron and Wade were a combined 9-for-34, and Mario Chalmers was limited to 22 minutes because of foul trouble. Even with that in mind, the Heat don't appear to be fazed going into a road game against a confident Pacers team.

Trail Blazers Interested In Hawks’ GM Rick Sund

May 11th, 2012 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, two frontrunners have emerged for the Trail Blazers' general manager opening: Jeff Bower and David Morway. However, those aren't the only candidates still in the running for the position. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports that the Blazers are also eyeing Hawks GM Rick Sund.

According to Broussard, the Blazers requested permission to speak to Sund, but were turned down by the Hawks, who preferred to wait until the season was over. After being eliminated from the playoffs by Boston last night, the Hawks will likely allow Sund to meet with Portland. Still, it's not clear how serious the Blazers' interest is. According to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (via Twitter), Sund is on the team's radar but not a primary target.

Sund is in the last year of his contract in Atlanta, and while the team has attempted to initiate extension talks, the GM has insisted on keeping his options open, says Broussard.